Flexible displays: They’re not just for portability

Sure, Sony and HP have been showing off rollable display prototypes that could one day lead to full sized computers that you can roll or fold up and fit into your pocket. But portability isn’t the only benefit of flexible display technology.

Toshiba is showing off a new flexible LCD which includes sensors that react when you bend the screen. The result is that you can actually use the motion of the screen to control certain actions. For instance, grab the edges and bend in or out to zoom in and out of Google Earth.

You can check out a video of the super-glossy flexible display/input prototype after the break.I’m not entirely convinced that it’s all that practical. But it’s certainly pretty cool. For reference, the display in the video is an 8.4 inch, 800 x 600 pixel screen. The glass is 0.1mm thick.

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